Tuesday, April 05, 2011

We have heard of the many stories praising the Japanese for their discipline with how they are dealing with the triple whammy of the mega earthquake, giant tsunamis and the nuclear crisis that has left over 28,000 people either dead or missing. Indeed, the Japanese are to be admired for their flexibility during these challenging times.

But how many approve of their commendable traits? Let's put some numbers (Don't be afraid of statistics, it's fun.) in to the testimonies so that we shall learn more about Japanese people by looking through the lenses of the Americans, British, and Chinese. Well, it's ABC.

A total of 646 foreigners aged 20 and above participated in an Internet survey conducted between 22 and 24 March by Dentsu Inc. and Soken Inc.

More than 50 percent of the respondents said the Japanese displayed their organized behavior after the twin calamities struck on 11 March.

Among the 203 Chinese participants, 140 (69 percent) also gave the impression that the Japanese responded with patience and great solidarity in dealing with the cataclysm.

A considerable number of the 237 American and the 206 British respondents said that maintaining dignity is important to the Japanese.

132 Chinese participants (65 percent) encouraged the Japanese upon learning the calamity through the Net or by some other ways.

Over 40 percent of online respondents said their impressions of Japan improved after the quake-tsunami disasters that hit the northeast Pacific side of the country.